The German Shepherd that was rescued from euthanization two weeks ago, then shot and killed Sunday afternoon by a Union County deputy after the dog attacked three people, was first picked up as a stray in Rowan County.

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"In the previous weeks leading to this event, Saul only barked at those who he did not know and quickly changed his mood and demeanor with positive reinforcement of wanted behavior. He showed a high level of intelligence and willingness to please without signs of aggression during training or routine socializations. Saul was in my opinion making excellent progress."

I'm really curious what was done to curb the unwanted behaviors....can't just positively reinforce wanted behaviors and not deal with the unwanted...

I have so many questions...and so many thoughts. Off to see what I can find on the "trainer" that somehow let THREE people get attacked. I have seen a few pretty aggressive dogs act out with professional (dealing specifically with aggression) trainers, and the dogs never had a chance to get to any one person, let alone everyone that was there....

__________________"An excess of size is an unserviceable feature for breeding, his powers of endurance, his speed and the smartness of his movements suffer in all circumstances. Giants are never nimble."-Creator of GSD

There are some dogs out there that can never be 100% safe again and you either manage them or put em down. Tough part is figuring out which is which sometimes. Dog got two more weeks of life than it should have had.

From what i have been told by someone that knows her she isnt a force free trainer. So while im not privy to the details she is likely to have left those details out of her facebook updates.

Ohh boy. I worked with Pit Bull Rescue and any bite history made the dog unadoptable. At first I thought this was harsh but after seeing all the lovely friendly stable pits that needed homes, I came to realize that there was no point in taking a risk by adopting out a potential known aggressor. It was for the good of the breed.

I think it is a sad story. Someone thinks they can do more than they can. But unless you try, how can you know? The dog was aggressive. But it does not seem to state that the dog was seriously evaluated by any type of behaviorist. The k9 officer has experience with a type of dog, and stated the dog was unsocialized and aggressive.

I think it was a mistake. There are plenty of dogs out there that need homes, if we stick with the ones that do not have bite histories, maybe less people will get bitten. This one GSD hit the list as having bitten the K9 officer, the trainer/owner, the person helping with the socialization, the other officer.

Might something had been a little different if the trainer had done a 2-week shut down and let the dog settle, maybe for a month or more before starting her rehabilitation? We will never know.

This is bad for rescue and shelter adoptions, and bad for our breed. It's too bad. I don't know if the shelter was wrong in giving the woman a shot at the dog. But it turned out badly.

I really do not think it really speaks about the ineffectiveness of positive approaches, as I think without allowing the dog to settle and adjust, two weeks is such a short time, it only speaks that whoever was trying to use the methods tried too much, too soon, with the wrong dog.

There are some dogs out there that can never be 100% safe again and you either manage them or put em down. Tough part is figuring out which is which sometimes. Dog got two more weeks of life than it should have had.

From what i have been told by someone that knows her she isnt a force free trainer. So while im not privy to the details she is likely to have left those details out of her facebook updates.

Interesting, I wonder what really happened...why were they out? Why wasn't the dog muzzled? Why so many bites? Did they test the dog appropriately and really get into it's nerve (through obedience/proofing etc) enough to know what triggered it, why, and what it's go to action is/was?

Agree that some dogs just aren't safe....also interesting that it was scheduled to be euthanized, but the community outrage, semi-forced the shelter's hand to adopt out to trainer....and now look where we are.

__________________"An excess of size is an unserviceable feature for breeding, his powers of endurance, his speed and the smartness of his movements suffer in all circumstances. Giants are never nimble."-Creator of GSD

Dog is not stable. Then is saved from being euthanized. Sounds like it's thrown into inappropriate socialization scenarios which goes bad...really bad. The poor people who were bit and this poor dog- not a good existence for his short life in our world.

__________________
Such shy animals are in all circumstances an encumbrance to their owner, who must be ashamed of such a dog, and a disgrace to their race. Under no circumstances whatever must they be used for breeding, however noble and striking they may appear.

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